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Patatas Bravas

Patatas Bravas are one of the most well known Spanish tapas recipes, and for good reason. They are inexpensive, super simple, and very delicious. Potatoes parboiled, then cooked in lots of extra-virgin olive oil until slightly crispy and fully infused with rich olive flavor, then dressed with a spicy mayonnaise sauce.

Serve these warm or cool along with frozen sangria or beers. “Patatas bravas” means “brave potatoes” in Spanish and the name is a reference to the spicy sauce. Make it as spicy as you like it, but they’re best when they make you sweat a little.

In the video, Carlos and I used Marie Sharp’s hot sauce, which is a habanero sauce from Belize. It’s the bomb dot com and I would not dare to shit you about that. In Texas you can find it at Fiesta Mart; otherwise, you can order from Amazon (link at the bottom). It’s worth it. Pinky Swearsies.

I have got to find a new newsreader (one that doesn’t flag stuff as read as soon as it arrives). I almost missed this.

I am going to be all over this recipe. Patatas bravas are absolutely my favorite tapa. But the Spanish method is too much of a pain in the ass. I love the idea of using fingerling potatoes with only minimal prep. Thank you, Carlos!

I’m going to serve my patatas bravas with gin and tonics. That might sound strange, but I feel like a concession to the Spanish is in order and the Spanish have taken over ownership of the gin and tonic. They’re doing really innovative stuff with their tonic (like using red wine for a base). Speaking of tonic, I make my own using a tweaked version of Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s recipe. And speaking of Mr. Morgenthaler, did you see that he has a new book out this week? I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

I’ve never seen any red wine-based tonic for sale, but then again I haven’t looked very hard. Nowadays, craft bars are trying to outdo each other in offering cocktails made with house-made infused liquers, mixers (like tonic and ginger beer) and bitters. I understand that if you order a gin and tonic in a craft bar in Spain, you’ll be shown the cocktail menu with an entire page dedicated to G&Ts that pair different gins with various house-made tonic syrups. A Washington Post reporter came back from Spain with a full-on G&T obsession and started searching for for bars in D.C. that are emulating the Spanish and has written a series of articles about gin and tonic. One bar in Washington, D.C. shared their recipe for a red wine based tonic syrup here: http://wapo.st/1i9yCXb
My one minor gripe with the recipe (which is why I haven’t actually made it) is that it calls for quinine powder which is lot more expensive than chopped cinchona bark and more of a pain in the ass to filter out. If you decide you want to try making your own, be sure to read Jeffrey Morgenthaler’s recipe (highly recommended) for tonic syrup. Even if you don’t want to make his recipe, his method for filtering the tonic infusion is absolute genius: http://bit.ly/1brMtne

Hilah, you have amazed me once again! I absolutely loved this recipe. I used this recipe as well as my own fusion of your Spanish and Mexican rices for my best friend’s graduation party last weekend. Long story short, everyone loved the potatoes! You have been such an inspiration to me and you have made me realize my passion for food. Stay awesome (: